Current time in Amsterdam

Central European Time, like the neighbours

Amsterdam uses Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) in winter and Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) in summer, the same as Brussels, Berlin and Paris. London is one hour behind throughout the year, and New York is normally six hours behind. The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, such as Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, stay on UTC−4 and do not change their clocks.

Amsterdam Time: twenty minutes of its own

Until 1940 the Netherlands had a time of its own. From 1909 the legal time was the mean solar time of Amsterdam, measured at the tower of the Westerkerk: 19 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of Greenwich. In 1937 it was rounded to exactly 20 minutes. After the German invasion in May 1940, clocks were moved forward by an hour and forty minutes to German time, and the country has stayed in the Central European zone ever since.

Summer evenings that last

Clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October; the Netherlands has used summer time without a break since 1977. Amsterdam lies well west of the meridian on which Central European Time is based, so in summer the sun is highest at about 13:40 and sets after 22:00 around the June solstice. In December it rises only at about 08:45.

Amsterdam: time zone at a glance

Time zone

Europe/Amsterdam

Standard time

UTC+1

Daylight saving time

UTC+2

Clock changes in 2026

Sunday, March 29, 2026: forward 1 hour

Sunday, October 25, 2026: back 1 hour

Clock changes in 2027

Sunday, March 28, 2027: forward 1 hour

Sunday, October 31, 2027: back 1 hour

Dates reflect the rules in force when this page was last updated. Governments can change them at short notice.

Plan a meeting in Amsterdam

Use the actual meeting date. Seasonal clock changes can alter the time difference.

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